


Love Heals

by BellaLeigh



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: All Human AU, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, hospital au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27207454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellaLeigh/pseuds/BellaLeigh
Summary: Falling in love with your patient is never a good idea. Neither is falling for your baby daddy's brother. Too bad for Dr. Hayley Marshall that Elijah Mikaelson is both.Elijah Mikaelson was 19 when his brother Niklaus walked away from the family. Now, 14 years later, Elijah's accident has brought his prodigal brother back. But, for how long?Now it's up to Hayley. Both to get Elijah walking again, and to mend the rift Klaus caused in the family all those years ago.
Relationships: Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson/Camille O'Connell
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	1. Well, This Is A Mess

**~Love Heals~**

Hayley Marshall slumped into a chair in the attendings lounge with a sigh. It had been a long day. And her shift was only half over. Suddenly there was a cup of coffee in front of her.

“You look like you could use this.”

She looked up to see Jackson Kenner standing in front of her, holding a coffee cup out to her. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“You know, the coffee here is pretty crappy. When are you going to let me at least take you out for a real cup?”

She groaned. “How does the fifth of never sound? Honestly, Jackson. You’re a nice guy, but I’m just not interested.” And the way he kept asking almost every day was not about to change that. If anything, it was making her dislike him more.

“Hey, a guy can dream, right? Seriously, when’s the last time you’ve been on a real date? Your drunken one-night stand with Klaus Mikaelson doesn’t count.”

She glared at him. “My love life is none of your business. Neither is my sex life. And, before you make a comment, you do know that those two things can be mutually exclusive, right?” Which was probably going to make him think that her and Klaus were still sleeping together. Not that she really cared what he thought of her.

“You’re still sleeping with him? Gross. You can do so much better.” Yep. Exactly what she was kind of expecting him to think.

“Meaning you? At least Klaus respects boundaries and doesn’t keep asking me for something he knows damn well I’m never going to give him. Unlike somebody I could mention.” She at least didn’t add that he was actually pretty good in bed. More because she was afraid that that would just get Jackson trying to convince her to give him a try.

Her pager went off, then. Saved by the bell. “It looks like I’ve got a patient.” She handed the cup back. “I’ll see you later.” Unfortunately.

She didn’t bother to wait for the elevator, instead running down the stairs. Though she hadn’t even made it down half a flight before the door opened behind her, and Jackson was running down after her. “Seriously, Jackson? I have work to do.”

“Yeah. So do I. My page came right after you left the room.”

Wonderful. She wondered what the odds were of them having been called for different patients. Probably pretty slim, unfortunately. Because her day wasn’t bad enough.

She skidded to a halt at the nurses station in the E.R. and looked around.

“Marshall, Kenner. Salvatore needs you in trauma bay two.”

Of course. Of course they were both called for the same patient. Well, nothing for it, now. She grabbed a yellow gown and put it on, then tensed as Jackson came up behind her to tie it. She gritted her teeth and helped him tie his. Then ran to where Stefan Salvatore was working on a man who was probably pretty good looking when he wasn’t banged up from whatever had brought him in here. “What have we got?”

“Elijah Mikaelson. Thirty-three years old. GCS of 9. E4, V3, M2. And, there’s obviously the leg.”

E4, V3, M2. So, awake and somewhat alert, but signals are getting lost somewhere between his brain and his extremities. Though, with his right leg, at least, that was hardly surprising.

“Shattered tibia. I’m gonna need an x-ray, but it’s a pretty safe bet that that tibia isn’t just broken. What happened to him?”

“Car accident. He got t-boned by a semi running a red light.”

Hayley nodded. “I take it Tom brought him in?”

“Yeah. And now that he’s stable and you two are here, I’m going to see if him or Damon have this guy’s cell phone. He’s been asking for someone named Rebekah.”

“Someone get an x-ray machine in here. I need to see exactly what I’m looking at with this leg.”

“And I’m going to need a full-body MRI.”

“He’s awake and alert, Hales. I need to get him into an O.R. before he loses that leg.”

“He’s awake. I don’t know that I would really call him alert. And he’s barely able to move. I need to get a look at his head. He can function without a leg. It’s a little harder to function without a brain. So, how about you let me do my job, so I can keep you from doing nothing more than making sure he fits in a casket properly?”

“Seriously, Hales? You’re really going to stand here and accuse me of, what? Trying to kill our patient rather than admit that you might be right?”

“Don’t call me Hales. I have a name. And I’m not accusing you of trying to kill him. I’m just accusing you of not appreciating how serious this can be. I need to look at his head. And I need to find out why he can barely move. The leg can wait.” She turned to the nurses. “Let’s get him up to Radiology. We can get that MRI and x-ray his leg.” As they started to wheel him out to the elevators, she glared at Jackson. “See? I can compromise. You should try it, sometime.”

“Whatever, Hales. Oh. I’m sorry. Dr. Marshall. Is that better?”

“Much.”

Soon enough, they were looking at the images together, and Hayley swore. A concussion, which was almost to be expected. But, there was also a brain bleed. And, in addition to the shattered tibia — Jackson had been right about that, at least — he also had a fractured pelvis. And his right wrist, and his collarbone.

Jackson whistled. “This guy is a mess.”

“Yeah. Well, I need to deal with that brain bleed. You might as well scrub in. Get started on the leg and pelvis as soon as I have him stabilized.”

Jackson nodded and followed her to the scrub room. “So, what are your plans after your shift ends?”

“Go pick Hope up from Klaus’s, go home, order a pizza, and watch mindless movies while I stuff my face. This day has been incredibly long, and it doesn’t exactly seem to be improving.” She nodded towards the O.R. where their patient was being prepped. “This surgery is going to be a bitch. And I can’t even just leave you to it once I get the brain bleed under control, because I have to monitor the concussion. And there’s also likely nerve damage in his extremities that I’m going to have to deal with.”

“Though that can wait. Right now, you just need to make sure he wakes up. I mean, the brain bleed could be the actual issue, couldn’t it? Something localized to his brain would make a lot more sense than nerve damage in all four extremities.”

“Yeah.”

They finished scrubbing in and held up their hands for nurses to put their gloves on for them, then walked into the O.R.

**~Love Heals~**

Hayley didn’t even know how long they were in there. Time tended to lose all meaning for her when she was in an operating room. There was just her, the patient, and the machines. It was still too soon to know just how extensive the damage was going to end up being. But, she had dealt with the brain bleed, and Jackson had dealt with all the broken bones. And he seemed to be responding to the anesthesia being stopped. Once she had scrubbed out, she would go to the recovery room and make sure that he was waking up properly.

Jackson was still in the scrub room when Hayley left the O.R. “Hey. So, is he gonna live?”

“I’m pretty hopeful. Is there a reason that you stuck around?” She took her gloves and gown off and tossed them into the hazards bin, then started scrubbing her hands.

“Do not stand there and tell me that you didn’t catch that.”

“Catch what?” She actually had an idea what he was getting at. It was the thing that had been in the back of her mind ever since Stefan told them the guy’s name.

“Come on, Hales. His last name? You think it’s a coincidence?”

“It’s not like Mikaelson is the world’s most uncommon name. Granted, that particular spelling is a bit rarer, but still not enough to make assumptions.”

“You aren’t even the slightest bit curious if that dude could be related to your boyfriend?”

As much as she liked the idea of Jackson finally taking a hint and getting off her back, she couldn’t help correcting him. “Klaus isn’t my boyfriend.” In point of fact, he was Cami’s boyfriend. Though that wasn’t common knowledge at the hospital. They had only been together a couple months and were trying to avoid the rumor mill for a bit longer.

“Right. Your fuck buddy, then?”

“He’s not… Whatever. Yeah. I admit it. The idea that my patient could be some long-lost relative of Hope’s is kind of intriguing. I mean, I don’t really have a family, and neither does Klaus. And sometimes I do think that it sucks that Hope is growing up without any kind of extended family. But, I’m hardly going to start prying into a total stranger’s private life fishing for information that might not even have anything to do with me. Like I said, it’s a fairly common last name. It could be a total coincidence.”

“You could ask Klaus.”

“No, actually, I can’t. For the opposite reason of why I can’t ask the patient. If Elijah is related to Klaus, somehow, then by asking Klaus about him, I’ve just discussed his medical condition with a family member without permission.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Hayley looked at her watch. “Right now, I’m going to make sure our patient is waking up, go change, go pick up my daughter, and eat my body weight in pizza. As for the whole potential Mikaelson family drama… I’ll sort that out later.” And with that, she dried her hands off and walked out of the scrub room.

**~Love Heals~**

“Well, Mr. Mikaelson, you have had quite a day.”

“My legs… Can’t feel my legs.”

Jackson spoke up. “You have a fractured pelvis and a shattered tibia. Honestly, you might want to be grateful that you can’t feel that leg.”

“You’re also still coming out of anesthesia. So, part of the numbness could be from that. We’ll know more once you’re fully awake and we can run some more tests. In the meantime, I want to do a few quick checks and then we’ll go tell your family that you’re still with us.”

“Rebekah. Call Rebekah.”

“I’m sure that somebody did. Do you want to see her if she’s here?”

“Yeah.”

Hayley then busied herself doing her post-op exam. “Pupils are responding to light, that’s good.” She looked at the monitors. “Heartrate, BP, and blood ox all look good.” She pressed on his hand and watched for a response. “You’re pinking up nicely. Can you wiggle your fingers in your left hand for me?” She smiled when he did. “Good.” She couldn’t test the right arm at all. With both a broken wrist and a broken collarbone, he was completely immobilized. But, this was a good sign.

And now for the real moment of truth. He said he couldn’t feel his legs. His right leg was a mess, but barring complications, he should be able to do something with his left leg. “Can you flex your left foot for me?” Except nothing happened. This was what she was afraid of. When tapping his Achilles tendon with a reflex hammer got the same non-response she mentally swore.

And, apparently, her silence was enough clue. “Is it bad?”

“Like I said, it could be the anesthesia. We’ll start figuring this out when you’re the rest of the way awake. But, we should go find Rebekah for you.”

Hayley and Jackson walked out of the recovery room together. And once they were out of earshot, Hayley couldn’t help swearing. “Shit! I don’t like this. If it was just the anesthesia, and him not being all the way awake…”

“Come on, Hales. You’re the best. You’ll figure this out. If anybody can get him walking again, it’s you.”

“Yeah. But, now I get to go tell his wife that I might _not_ be able to get him walking again.” This was the part she hated. It was certainly not as bad as when the patient didn’t make it. But still. She much preferred talking to families when she could give them unequivocal good news.

They were greeted by a very pretty blonde woman who jumped up as soon as they entered the waiting room. “Are you Drs. Marshall and Kenner?”

“I take it you’re Rebekah Mikaelson?” When the blonde nodded, Hayley smiled. “Well, Mrs. Mikaelson, your husband is in recovery.”

The blonde laughed. “It’s Miss Mikaelson. And Elijah is my brother. Also, please, call me Rebekah. I’ve been told enough to figure that we are probably going to be seeing quite a lot of each other for a while. We might as well be slightly less formal, here.”

“All right, Rebekah. Your brother is in recovery. They’ll be moving him to the ICU soon. Before you panic, patients almost always spend a night in the ICU after surgery. Making sure there were no complications requires more round the clock care than can really be provided on a ward. And he has a concussion. Which requires monitoring. Though, he responded well to the anesthesia, which has me confident that the concussion won’t be causing complications.”

“Though, in your brother’s case, he’ll likely be in the ICU for a bit longer. He has several broken bones. Fractured collarbone, wrist, pelvis.” Jackson paused. “His right tibia is the main problem. He broke it in several places, and none of them were clean breaks. There’s a lot of jagged pieces of bone in there. And I’m not going to lie, he’s got so many screws and pins holding that leg together that right now his shin is more metal than bone. He has a long road ahead of him, and when everything is said and done, he’s probably going to have to relearn how to walk.”

Hayley closed her eyes, when she opened them again, she found herself looking directly into Rebekah’s eyes. She gasped. The woman’s eyes were the exact same shade of blue as Klaus’s and Hope’s. Granted, it was just eye color. Probably a coincidence. Or her mind grasping at straws. The whole last name issue was driving her crazy. She shook her head. “Though, speaking of that, there’s more. As I said, he has a concussion, which I’m not really worried about. When he was brought in, he had a motor score of two out of six. He did have a brain bleed, which I’ve repaired. And he’s regained feeling and movement in his arms and hands. Well, as much as we could test with that broken collarbone and wrist, anyway. But, right now, he still can’t feel his legs. And he isn’t responding to any of the tests for nerve function.”

“Meaning that he’s paralyzed?”

“It could honestly be a side effect of the broken pelvis. He’s swollen, and some of that swollen tissue can be pressing on his nerves. I’ll know better tomorrow when the anti-inflammatories kick in. But, for right now, until I find out what is going on in there and if it’s something that either I can fix or that will fix itself given time… You do need to be prepared for the possibility that this paralysis may not be temporary. I am going to do everything in my power to get him walking again. But, we all need to be aware that that just may not be possible.”

“Thank you for your honesty. I know that a lot of doctors would be trying to sugar coat this. Play up the ‘it’s too soon to tell’ angle and maybe not even mention the worst case scenario. So, thank you.”

“I don’t believe in taking the chance of people being blindsided by things that I saw coming but didn’t warn them about. I’m still hopeful. But, I need you prepared for the worst.”

“I still appreciate it. Does he know, yet?”

“No. I’ll talk to him tomorrow once we know more. Right now, more stress is the last thing he needs. I think he suspects. He did mention that me not saying anything when I worked on his legs like I did when I was checking his arms probably meant it was bad. But, I just told him that we’ll know more tomorrow.”

Rebekah nodded. “Can I see him?”

“As soon as he’s settled in the ICU you can go up for a few minutes. But, it’s the ICU, so limited visitation. And he’s groggy and needs his rest. So, only for a few minutes. If you go up to the ICU waiting room and check in with them, they’ll let you in to see him as soon as they get him settled in. Is there any other family around? You’ll have to go one at a time. But…”

“No. Right now it’s just me. We decided that since I was the one they had called that I should be the one to be here. My siblings are busy trying to keep my mother sane. Which… I should actually probably call them before I head up. Tell them that he’s awake and is going to live. I’ll fill them in on the rest at home.” She sighed. “Not looking forward to that.”

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Rebekah. And I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And with that, Hayley headed to the attendings lounge, changed out of her scrubs, and headed home.

**~Love Heals~**

Or rather, she headed to Klaus’s house to pick up Hope.

“Rough day, love?”

“You could say that. Just a lot going on, today.”

He handed her a glass of wine. “You want to talk about it?”

“I honestly wish I could. But, I really can’t. I also shouldn’t be drinking. I’m exhausted, and I need to drive home. With Hope in the car.”

“You could just crash here. There is a spare bed in Hope’s room, after all.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “I appreciate the offer, Klaus, but really. All I want to do is go home, order a pizza, and find a cheesy RomCom on Netflix to watch.”

“Well, I can also order pizza. And I do have Netflix. Come on. You look like you could use some pampering. I say you go take a bubble bath while we wait for the pizza to get here. Bonus for you spending the night here is that I can be the one to get up with Hope in the morning. Heck! We can even trade. You can have my room, I’ll take the spare bed.”

And that did it. The offer of being relieved of toddler duty and being allowed to sleep in was too tempting after the day she had had. “Fine. You win.”

“Good. Now, go. Seriously. Bubble bath, wine. I’ll call you when the pizza gets here, and you can take over the t.v. remote.”

Hayley smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

And he really was. If she had to get pregnant from a drunken one night stand, she certainly could have done a lot worse than Klaus Mikaelson. There had never been anything romantic between them, and as good as the sex had been, neither of them had cared for a repeat of that, either. Even before he met Cami and fell head over heels for her. But, they had fallen into an easy rhythm as coparents, and he had become one of her best friends. Second only to Eve.

She filled the tub with water and bubbles, then sank in and closed her eyes. Mmm… heaven.

She didn’t know how long it was before there was a knock on the door. “Dinner’s ready, love.”

Hayley sighed and got out of the tub. She dried off and dressed in the t-shirt of Klaus’s that she had grabbed, then put on a robe to cover up with.

She smiled when she went out to the living room to see that Klaus wasn’t alone. “Hey Cami. Klaus had planned on giving me his room and him taking the spare bed in Hope’s room so I can sleep in tomorrow. But, if you’re spending the night, we can totally switch that around.”

Cami shook her head. “I’m guessing you’ve had a long day. You should totally take advantage of his offer and sleep in.”

“You sure? I mean, I can sleep in Hope’s room and still make him get up with her. Compromise?”

“Fine. Compromise. If you’re sure. I heard you were in a really long surgery towards the end of your shift. The whole hospital is talking about it.”

And probably about the patient’s last name. Hayley raised an eyebrow at Cami who gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. No, she hadn’t asked Klaus if he knew Elijah, either. Good. Eventually, somebody was going to have to ask one of them about it. She knew that. She owed it to Hope to ask. But she had no idea how to broach the subject.

She sighed and sat down in the recliner, while Klaus and Cami curled up on the loveseat together.

Cami handed her the remote. “The person with the most stressful day gets to pick the movie. That’s the rule.”

Hayley laughed and turned on Netflix, went to her profile, and started scrolling through RomComs, looking for something fluffy and fun to take her mind off of the drama of her real life. She picked out a movie, then sat back with a plateful of pizza and the bottle of beer that Cami handed her.

She knew that if anyone saw this, they would think it was weird. Here she was, in Klaus’s living room, wearing nothing but his t-shirt and a robe, watching movies with him and his girlfriend. Even the fact that she had her own profile on his Netflix account would probably raise some eyebrows on anyone that knew about Cami.

But, Hayley knew that one of the things that Klaus loved about Cami — not that he was ready to admit to himself, much less anyone else, that he loved her — was the way she wasn’t the slightest bit threatened by Hayley. She trusted him. To the point that she would have gone home tonight if Hayley hadn’t come up with her compromise. It was a strange dynamic, but it worked for them.

And as Hayley sat there, eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching some cheesy RomCom where everything was guaranteed to work out just fine in the end, she couldn’t help glancing over at her baby daddy and his girlfriend. And wondering if there was a guy out there somewhere who could be as understanding as Cami was.

  
  



	2. Bearers Of Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan, Hayley, and Jackson try to figure out exactly what happened to Elijah. Eve has apparently read too many romance novels. And Jackson and Hayley both have bad news to give Elijah about his prognosis.

“Mommy! Wake up!”

Hayley groaned and tried to roll over. Except the weight on her chest wouldn’t let her. And then there was suddenly pain and blinding light as one of her eyelids was pulled up.

“Hope, love, Mommy needs her sleep. And for you to stop trying to tear her face off.” Klaus trying to reason with a two-year-old was rather entertaining, actually.

“Mommy!” The little tyrant let go of Hayley’s eyelid and switched to patting her face. “Wake up, Mommy!”

“I’m awake, baby girl. Just give me a minute, okay?” She opened her eyes to see Hope’s tiny face peering at her from about two inches away. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, good morning to you.”

“Morning, Mommy!”

Klaus came over and pulled Hope off of Hayley. “Sorry about that. We tried. Actually managed to get her to eat breakfast. Then, she decided that she missed you, and you have slept long enough. Little beast got past me while my back was turned.”

Hayley laughed again. “It’s fine. If she’s had breakfast, then I obviously got more sleep than I would have if we had gone home. So, I appreciate the effort.” She sat up with a sigh. “Umm… I kind of need you to leave for a minute, though…”

Klaus smirked. “Of course. Come on, baby girl. Let’s go get Mommy a plate together.”

“Pancakes!”

“Yes. We’ll go start getting Mommy’s pancakes. And her coffee.” He turned as he reached the door. “I washed your clothes from last night and set them on the dresser for you. The bathroom is free if you want to get a shower first.”

Hayley giggled and climbed out of bed, grabbed her clothes, and headed to the shower.

When she finished her shower and dressed, she went out to the kitchen. And was immediately attacked by a tiny little tornado.

“Mommy!”

Hayley bent down and picked her daughter up. “Hello, my baby girl! I’ve missed you! Were you a good girl for Daddy, last night?”

Hope nodded, but Hayley wasn’t entirely sure she believed her. She raised an eyebrow at Klaus. “She gave me a bit of a hard time at bedtime, wanting to stay up until you got home, but I tend to expect that on your later nights. She went to work with me, though. I let her fingerpaint, so she was happy.”

Hayley had to smile at that. Hope might only be two, but it was already pretty clear that she had inherited her father’s love of art. Hayley had been worried the first few times Klaus took Hope to work with him, but she was weirdly respectful of the “look don’t touch” rule there. And she almost always came home chattering about something. Of course, being two, most of that chatter wasn’t actually in recognizable English, yet. But, it was always entertaining to watch her get so excited.

Cami handed Hayley a plate of pancakes and sausage. “So, other than the little dictator waking you up this morning, how did you sleep?”

“Good. That spare bed is almost as comfortable as my own. Granted my good night’s sleep was also helped by exhaustion and alcohol.”

“So, what are your plans for today?”

“Well… Klaus, do you mind keeping Hope for a couple more hours? I should really go in and check on my newest patient. There are things I don’t want to just hand off to whoever the neuro on call is today.”

“Of course. You know that I’m always glad to spend time with her. You can pick her up at the gallery. I have an auction this weekend I need to get ready for. No rest for the wicked.”

Hayley smiled and tucked into her breakfast. It was when she tried to leave that the problems started.

“No! Mommy stay!”

“I have to go to work, baby girl. But, just for a little while, and you get to go to work with Daddy again, today. Look at the pretty pictures.”

“Pictures?”

Klaus picked Hope up. “Yep! You’re going to come with me and look at pretty pictures while Mommy goes and checks on her latest patient.”

“And then when I get home, maybe we’ll kidnap Daddy and all go out to lunch together. How does that sound?”

Hope didn’t really look convinced, but she sighed and nodded. “Pictures. And lunch. Okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you in a couple hours. Be good for Daddy.” She kissed her daughter on the cheek and left before Hope changed her mind about letting her.

**~Love Heals~**

Hayley found Jackson staring at a very familiar set of scans. She didn’t even need to look at the name to know who they belonged to. “Looking for anything in particular?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to figure out how this guy managed to break his tibia in so many places without his fibula getting so much as a scratch. What the hell happened in that car?”

“I think I can answer that.” Hayley and Jackson both turned, as Stefan walked up to them. “Damon said that when they pulled him out, he was actually partly turned. Theory is that he heard the truck coming and instinctively turned towards the sound.”

“So, his fibula was protected by the seat cushion and what? Then what?”

“He actually broke his tibia on the steering column. Now that Stefan mentions it, that would explain the other bit of weirdness. If you look, the point of impact was on the inside. So, he tensed up, turned, got hit, got thrown forward. The seatbelt prevented his torso from moving much, but his legs were free. That leg then slammed into the steering column. Which, him being turned also explains the collarbone. That isn’t an impact fracture, it’s a twisting fracture. He was turned to the right, when he got hit the seatbelt would have tightened and pulled his left shoulder back. At the same time, momentum threw his right shoulder forward.”

“That makes sense. Especially since the speed limit on that street is forty-five. His leg would have hit the steering column at pretty damn close to that. Add in additional force from the impact itself. And that same force was also acting on that collarbone. It certainly makes sense. And, now that you’ve solved that mystery, I’m going to get back to my department before my new batch of interns end up killing someone. Good luck.”

“Look, I know that you came in today just to examine him, but maybe you should give me a few minutes with him before you come up? You’re a neurosurgeon, Hayley. You know what I’m going to have to tell him about that pelvis. It might be easier for him to hear if there isn’t a pretty woman in the room playing with his leg.”

Hayley snorted. “We are seriously about to ruin this man’s day. First you get to tell him that even if whatever is wrong with his legs is fixable, he may still never have sex again. And then I get to come in and tell him that there is also a possibility that he’ll never walk again.”

“Yeah, well… like you told his sister, better to tell him and let him be prepared than let him possibly get blindsided later.”

“Great. Well, you might be right about it being easier for him to hear your news from a man. So, I’ll go cool my heels in the cafeteria. Have me paged when you’re ready for me to come give my bit of bad news.”

“The cafeteria? Tell me you didn’t come here without eating breakfast.”

She smiled. “Klaus made pancakes. But, I was woken up by a two year old pulling my eyelids up. I could use some more coffee. See you soon.” And then she walked away towards the cafeteria while letting the fact that she had breakfast at Klaus’s place sink in. It was cruel, and she knew that she was only making more problems for Cami once they went public. But at that particular moment she didn’t really care.

She did have at least one thing go for her, though. Eve was in front of her in the line for coffee. “Hey you! Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah. Though, that’s probably a good thing for my patients.”

Hayley laughed. “No, I’d hate to be pregnant and have my obstetrician have to call a neurosurgeon in. So, what have you been up to? Any particularly interesting cases?”

“Not particularly, no. Which is probably also a good thing. Though, I hear you had quite a bit of excitement last night. The whole hospital—”

Hayley cut her off. “Yeah. I heard. The whole hospital is buzzing about my latest patient. Probably more about his last name than anything about his condition.”

Eve got to the front of the line and ordered two cups of coffee, then handed one to Hayley. “Well, yes. Don’t tell me that you aren’t the slightest bit curious. You really think it’s just a coincidence?”

“Well, if we were in a movie or a book, it wouldn’t be a coincidence. He’d be related to Klaus, and…”

“And Klaus would run into one of his siblings or his mother while bringing you lunch, or something. And then hilarity would ensue.” They walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Eve got a wicked gleam in her eye. “I’ve heard Elijah is quite the looker, too. So, I’ll take this even further. If this was a movie, it would be a Romantic Comedy. Elijah would turn out to be… oh… Klaus’s long-lost brother, or something. And you would end up falling in love with him. But, he’s your patient. And your baby daddy’s brother. And it would be an absolutely hilarious mess.”

Hayley cackled. “You read too many Romance novels. I mean, I admit to having noticed that Elijah is probably pretty good-looking when he’s not all banged up from nearly being murdered by a semi. But, seriously? I don’t know what part of your little fantasy is more ridiculous. There’s no way Elijah and Klaus are that closely related. I mean, brothers? Seriously? Klaus and I have both commented on what a shame it is that Hope doesn’t really have any family but us. Would he really keep the fact that he has siblings from me? Not to mention not trying to get in touch with them at all in the past three years? Never trying to get them to be a part of Hope’s life?” She didn’t mention Rebekah’s eyes. It was just eye color. It was her imagination running away with her. That’s all.

“I’m sure we’ll find out. Or, are you really going to let that man out of here without asking him if he knows Klaus? Yeah, Mikaelson may be a fairly common last name, but if it was me, I would want to know.”

“I know. At some point, I’m going to have to talk to him, or one of his siblings. Rebekah seems really nice. But… right now, my main concern needs to be getting him back on his feet — literally.” She smirked. “Which, brings us back to the other half of your little fantasy. Elijah Mikaelson is my patient. I’m hardly going to jump his bones, even once those bones heal. Among other things, it could get me fired.”

“Which is where all the drama and conflict come in. All that pining and longing and not being able to do anything about it, because he’s your patient.” Eve did a decent impression of a swoon. “I mean, it’s classic.”

“You do know that this is real life and not a movie, right? Get your head out of the clouds. This is going to turn out to be a coincidence. Elijah isn’t related to Klaus. And whether he is or not, I’m not going to end up falling for him. You’re just being silly.”

“We’ll see.” Eve laughed. “Oh, you’re probably right. But, it’s so much fun to think about. And I need some amusement.”

Hayley’s phone beeped, then. She glanced at it and saw that it was a text from Jackson saying that he was done talking to Elijah and she could come up and do her exam, now. “Well, speaking of my newest patient, I’m only here today to do his follow-up. Jackson is done giving him one bit of bad news. Now it’s time for me to go see if I have my own bad news to deliver.”

Eve frowned. “Is his leg really that bad? What the heck kind of bad news do you guys have to deliver?”

“As of his post-op exam he couldn’t feel his legs at all. And failed his reflex test. I’m hoping that that was just caused by swelling from the broken pelvis putting pressure on the nerves. But, if there’s no improvement today, then we need to be prepared for the worst.”

“And Jackson’s bad news?”

Hayley just tilted her head and gave her a  _look._ “Come on, Eve. Broken pelvis. I know you usually deal with a different side of this, but…”

“Oh! Shit. Which explains why you came to get coffee instead of just going in with Jackson and both of you doing your follow-ups together. Didn’t want to have to tell him _that_ with a pretty woman in the room?”

Hayley laughed. “’Playing with his leg’ as Jackson put it. So, yeah… we decided he would take that bit of news better from a guy. But, I’m the neurosurgeon. The question of whether he’s ever going to walk again is all on me. I’ll see you around.” And then she took off headed to Elijah’s room.

**~Love Heals~**

Elijah looked up when the man walked into his room. Dr. Kenner if he was remembering correctly. Though, his memory was pretty fuzzy. Something about a fractured pelvis and a shattered tibia. And how he should be grateful for not being able to feel his leg.

His legs. He still couldn’t feel his legs. That couldn’t possibly be good.

“So, Mr. Mikaelson, how are you feeling?”

“I’m a bit… loopy.”

Dr. Kenner laughed. “That’s to be expected. You’re on some pretty good drugs. Including a morphine drip. You’re going to be a bit loopy for a while. You have several broken bones. Collarbone, wrist, pelvis, and your tibia. Which is the main bone in your shin. Dr. Marshall will be in soon to check on you, as well. But, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, before she came in.”

Why did that sound really ominous? “Should I be worried?”

“Okay. I’m going to explain this as gently as I can. All of these broken bones are going to take a long time to heal. In the case of your pelvis and your tibia they’re going to be affecting each other. Each one making the other one take longer to heal. Which is especially true for the pelvis. You should be able to put weight on it fairly quickly, and walking on it would actually help it heal. But, obviously you aren’t walking anywhere for a long time. That tibia is going to take a while. Tibia fractures take longer to heal than pretty much anything but a broken femur. For the same reason. Those bones are thick.”

There was more to this. None of this was something he couldn’t be told with the other doctor in the room. She would know all of this. But, he was willing to play along for a bit. Because he wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear the part Dr. Kenner didn’t want Dr. Marshall in the room for, anyway. “How much time are we talking, here?”

“Until you’re completely healed? Four months. Minimum. Honestly, considering just how broken that leg is, I would say that six months is a conservative estimate. You have a very long road ahead of you. You broke it in several places, and none of them were clean breaks. Right now, your leg is being held together by a _lot_ of screws and pins.” He paused. “But, there’s another issue with your pelvis. Now, since it involves nerves, technically Dr. Marshall should probably be the one to tell you, but… you aren’t going to want to have this conversation with a woman.”

“Spit it out, Doc. I’m already facing the possibility of never walking again. What can you possibly have to tell me that’s so bad?”

“Walking may not be the only thing you may never do again. There are certain nerves that actually run through the pelvis. It’s way too soon to know if any of those nerves have been damaged.”

“Are you always this vague when giving a patient news? Come on, the suspense is killing me.”

Dr. Kenner took a deep breath. “All right. Bald, clinical facts. The nerves responsible for sexual pleasure run right through the pelvis. With all the swollen tissue, it was impossible to get a good enough look at the nerves to know if they’ve been damaged. And now, with all that metal in your pelvis and your leg, putting you in an MRI machine would kill you. So, there is no quick test that would even give us an idea of what we’re looking at in there.”

Elijah was silent for a few minutes while the implications of that sank in. “You’re saying I could be impotent? Well, that is not great.”

“Like I said, it’s too soon to tell. The anti-inflammatories are working nicely, so you aren’t swollen, anymore. But, you could still have some pinched nerves that will either work themselves out or Dr. Marshall can fix once your bones are more stable. So, don’t get discouraged if… things don’t seem to be working right. Anything like that right now isn’t necessarily permanent. But, it’s something you’re going to need to be prepared for. Like Dr. Marshall told your sister when talking about your legs, I don’t want to act like everything is fine, and then have you possibly blind-sided by it. Did you want me or Dr. Marshall to talk to your girlfriend?”

“Don’t have one. So, there’s that, at least. Nobody in particular to be disappointed but me. So, I guess it doesn’t really matter that much.”

Dr. Kenner nodded. “Okay, I’m going to text Dr. Marshall, have her come see where we’re at with those legs. Do you have any questions for me before she gets here?”

“Meaning, specifically about that little bombshell you just dropped? Not right now. I’m more worried about if I’m ever going to walk again than… anything else I might not ever do again. Nothing you can do about it right now, anyway, right?”

A few minutes later, Dr. Marshall walked in. Elijah kind of remembered her from the night before. Though, he hadn’t remembered how pretty she was. The messy bun she had pulled her hair up into made him wonder what it would look like when it was down. Which was definitely not something he should be thinking about his doctor.

Dr. Kenner put his hand on her shoulder, and Elijah couldn’t help but notice the way she flinched away from him a bit. “I’ve already finished my examination and talked to him. So, I’ll leave you to yours. I’ll see you later. Meet in the cafeteria for some crappy coffee?”

“Nope. Today is my day off and I have plans. I just came in for his follow-up exam.” Once Dr. Kenner was out of the room, she turned her attention to Elijah. “So, how are you feeling?”

“A bit loopy. But, I’ve been told that that is probably because of the morphine. So, what bad news have you come to tell me?”

“It might not be bad news, you know.”

“I still can’t feel my legs. I can’t imagine that your news is going to be particularly good.”

“Hey! Who’s the doctor here? There are a lot of things that can be causing that, and not all of them would mean it’s permanent. But, before we get to the legs, let me take a look at the rest of you.”

She started doing all that fun stuff you see in t.v. shows. Shining a light in his eyes, poking at his good arm, making him flex his elbow, rotate his shoulder and wrist, make a fist, wiggle his fingers. The whole time she made encouraging comments. And then she got to his legs. And the silence when he couldn’t do anything she asked him to do was deafening.

“So, this is not great, I’m guessing.”

“Not great, no. But, not the end of the world, either. Like I said, there are a lot of things that could be causing this. This doesn’t mean anything. Not yet. Have faith, Elijah.”

He chuckled. “Calling me by my first name? A bit forward isn’t it, Dr. Marshall?”

“Well, like your sister said, we are going to be seeing quite a bit of each other. We might as well be a bit less formal. Besides, it feels more personal to call my patients by their first name. A way to remember that you aren’t a statistic, and you’re more than a medical chart. If you prefer I don’t…”

“I didn’t say I minded. And if getting into that car accident was the price I had to pay to have a beautiful, intelligent woman spend so much time with me, well… who am I to complain?” And he certainly liked the idea of seeing quite a bit of her.

“And what makes you so sure that I’m intelligent?”

He laughed. “There are two professions that people pull out to compare to when they want to talk about how smart someone is. Rocket science.” He reached up and tapped her name badge. “And brain surgery. As beautiful as you are, you didn’t get through medical school, and residency, and pass your boards in one of — if not  _the_ — hardest specialties there are on your looks.”

She shook her head. “You are incorrigible. You are also a horrible flirt.”

“Oh? I’m bombing here, huh? I’d be more likely to believe that if you weren’t blushing.” He could tell that she was trying not to smile. But, she was failing at it.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.” He looked towards the door. “So, can I ask you a personal question?”

“If I can reserve the right not to answer.”

“Of course. So, how long have you and Dr. Kenner been divorced?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

“I heard you arguing yesterday. About me. I mean, I was a bit out of it, but… You sounded like an old married couple. Like that argument wasn’t really about me and how to treat me. And then there was your reaction when he called you by a nickname. The way he said it and the way you reacted — it sounded like it was a pet name that he used to call you, but isn’t allowed to, anymore.”

“No. Oh God, no. We’ve never even dated, except maybe in his fantasies. I… try not to think about his fantasies, though.”

Elijah laughed at that. “Well, speaking as a guy, I can hardly blame him. But, seriously. What is the story between you two?”

She sighed. “We knew each other a long time ago, in grade school. He was the boy next door. And, I guess everyone expected us to be the cliche. Which was stupid. I mean, honestly. Who does that? Who starts all but planning weddings for grade schoolers? But then… I moved away. When I came back here after med school for my residency, he was a year ahead of me. And I think he decided that it’s fate that led to us both working in the same hospital of all the hospitals in this city, much less the country. And, I’m still not interested.”

“And he still can’t take a hint?”

“Not really, no. But, it’s fine. I mean, he can be annoying, but it doesn’t reach harassment levels. Nothing I can’t handle. But! I am supposed to be in here giving you an exam and talking about your medical condition. Not being interrogated about my love life.”

“Sorry. I’m a lawyer. Actually, a divorce attorney. Interrogating people about their love lives is literally my job. Or at least part of it.”

“All right. Fine. But, I should do what I came here for, so that I can get home.”

“Right. You came in on your day off just to see me. Should I be flattered?”

“I came in on my day off to make sure you’re still among the living and take a look at your legs. Because it’s my job. I could have had someone else do this, today, but I did your surgery, you’re my responsibility. Anyway, let’s talk about that. You have a concussion.”

“Which explains the nurses waking me up twenty thousand times last night. They needed to make sure I _could_ wake up.”

“I’m sure that twenty thousand times is an exaggeration. But, yes. They were trying to keep you from going into a coma. They’ll let you sleep, tonight. You also had a brain bleed. I repaired that, and it was looking good, last night. I may do a CT scan later just to be sure that everything is healing properly, but I’m not too worried about that.” She took a deep breath, and he knew what was coming. “The thing that still has me worried—”

“Is my legs. Yeah. That has me worried, too. I mean, it’s not like I can’t do my job in a wheelchair. But, this is still scary, I’m not going to lie.”

“The tissues around your pelvis were swollen yesterday. Which meant that they could have been pinching nerves.”

“But, I’ve been on anti-inflammatories. Dr. Kenner already told me that they’re working well. So, that’s not the problem, now.”

“No. It’s not. Which means there could be some actual nerve damage. Or even spinal damage. But, there are still a lot of types of damage it could be that are either fairly easy to fix or will heal themselves in time with no intervention from me. I do not want you giving up hope, yet. You hear me? I’m going to figure this out. And I’m going to get you walking again.”

“Okay. I trust you. I may not have much faith in God, but… I’m going to have faith in you. I’m going to believe that I got lucky when they brought me here.”

She smiled. “Honestly, you’ve been pretty lucky through this whole process. The fact that you didn’t die on impact is pretty amazing in itself. And then, you got the best tag-team in all of New Orleans.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Tag-team?”

“The Salvatore brothers. Damon is the firefighter who got you out of the car, Tom is the EMT who kept you alive long enough to get you here, and Stefan is the E.R. doctor who got you stabilized so that Dr. Kenner and I could start fixing you. Those three are a well-oiled machine. You really did get very lucky, last night. And I refuse to believe that your luck has run out. We’ll get you back on your feet, Elijah. Just wait and see.”

Something was tickling the back of his mind. Something about the EMT and the E.R. doctor. And then he remembered. “Tom and Stefan. Are they…”

“Identical twins. You aren’t losing your mind. We get that a lot. Tom brings someone in that is in and out of consciousness, and then Stefan shows up. The best is when the poor patients think they’re seeing double.” She smiled. “But, unless you have any questions for me, I really do need to get home.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

She flushed. “I meant medical questions.”

“Fine. No. As much as I would love to keep you in here talking to me longer, I think you’ve covered everything for now. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. You’re my patient. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.” And then she walked out of the room.

Elijah couldn’t help but watch her walk away. She really was beautiful. And if he could walk… But, right now, he couldn’t. And he might not ever be able to. Dr. Hayley Marshall was definitely the kind of woman who could have any man she wanted. And who would want a man who couldn’t walk? She was definitely out of his league. Maybe she wouldn’t have been a week ago. But now?

And then he thought about the rest of his bad news. At the time, he really didn’t think it mattered that much. But, it was just one more thing to make him realize that he was destined to be alone. Because, watching Hayley’s flush spread across her collarbone made him wonder if that flush went further down. An image that his body didn’t react to at all. While he should be grateful that he hadn’t embarrassed himself, he couldn’t help thinking that that was not a good sign.

Oh, he had been told not to worry about it too much, right now. But, he couldn’t help it. It was a stupid thing to worry about when there was still a possibility of him never walking, again. But, while it might be possible to have a love life in a wheelchair… he had no illusions about who could possibly want to be with a man who…

He shook his head, leaned back, closed his eyes, and tried to get some sleep. Except he couldn’t get his mind off of Dr. Hayley Marshall. 


	3. When Did My Life Become A Soap Opera?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hayley meets the rest of Elijah's family, she and Eve start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Though, the conclusion they come to just makes everything even more complicated.

Hayley left Elijah’s room and as soon as the door was closed behind her, she leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths. This was ridiculous. He was her patient. A patient that she knew very little about. And he had somehow gotten her to spill half her life story by asking one question. His line about being a divorce attorney, so interrogating people about their love lives being his job didn’t really explain how easy it was for him to get her to talk.

But, there was the way he looked at her. There was just something in his eyes. Something that made her want to get lost in them. She shook her head. This was insane. Absolutely insane. He was her patient. It was her job to get him back on his feet, and then send him on his way. Well… after talking to him or one of his relatives to find out if they were related to Klaus. She owed it to Hope to do that.

“You all right there, Marshall?”

Hayley opened her eyes to see Dr Keelin Malroux looking at her. “Yeah. It’s just been a long couple days. Had that insanely long surgery, last night. Then came in on my day off to give my patient some bad news. And, just… You know how it is.”

“I run the ICU. Yeah. I am the queen bearer of bad news. And, in your case, none of this is helped by all the speculation.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “Does nobody in this hospital have anything more interesting to talk about than Elijah Mikaelson? Even Cami brought him up, last night. Eve asked me about him, today. Complete with putting together a little fantasy scenario. Because, apparently the fact that he’s good-looking has also made the rounds. How did it get all the way to Psych and Obstetrics?”

Keelin laughed. “Because, we may be doctors, but we are still just overgrown teenagers. Making the hospital basically a high school. We may have outgrown cliques, but we may never outgrow gossip. I’m starting to think that it’s just human nature. Plus… come on, Hales. We can’t help being curious.”

“I know. But, I need the damn rumors to stop. I don’t want him or his family hearing the speculation. I… I know that I’m going to have to talk to them. Ask them if they know Klaus. I know that I owe it to Hope — and to them, if I’m being honest. But, they should hear this from me, not from the damn hospital rumor mill.”

“I hear that.” Her voice trailed off. “Well, speak of the Devils, Rebekah Mikaelson just showed up with an entourage. I’m guessing that’s the rest of Elijah’s family.” Her eyes widened. “Holy shit! Brace yourself… Because this is looking less and less like a coincidence.”

Hayley frowned. “What do you mean?” She turned around. And froze. Rebekah was instantly recognizable. And the oldest of the women with her was so much an older version of her, that it was obvious that she was their mother. The younger man and teenager both looked enough like Elijah to also obviously be Mikaelsons. But, it was the oldest man, the father, that made Hayley’s breath catch. Because looking at Elijah Mikaelson’s father was like looking at a future version of Klaus.

She took a deep breath, and then walked up to them. “Rebekah, it’s good to see you.” She turned to the older couple. “Mr and Mrs Mikaelson, my name is Dr Hayley Marshall. I’m your son’s neurosurgeon.”

The woman laughed. “It’s Mr and Mrs Hunt, actually. Elijah is my son, but Ansel isn’t his father. I’m remarried.”

“Oh. Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

Ansel held out his hand to shake Hayley’s. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, with their father being dead, I’m the closest they have, anyway. And I love them all like they’re my own. So, in every way but legalities and last name, Elijah is my son. So, definitely an easy enough mistake to make.”

“Can we see him?”

Hayley nodded. “From mine and Dr Kenner’s perspective there’s nothing keeping him from having visitors. Though, Dr Malreaux has rules about how many visitors he can have at a time.”

“Two at a time. And I reserve the right to kick out anyone that seems to be agitating him.”

“Of course. Well, it should be Mother and Ansel, first.”

As Elijah’s mother and stepfather went into Elijah’s room, Rebekah introduced Hayley to her siblings. “Freya is the oldest. Then… then it’s Elijah. Then…” She took a deep breath, making this pause even longer than the first one. “Then there’s Kol, then me, and Henrik here is the baby of the family.”

“It’s very nice meeting all of you.” She barely stopped herself before adding that she wished it was under better circumstances. That was a comment that would make no sense at all to them. After all, if Elijah hadn’t wound up in the hospital, there would be no reason for Hayley to meet these people at all. Except… their last name, and how much Ansel looked like Klaus for some bizarre reason, and basically the feeling that she should have met them all three years ago.

Rebekah pulled her out of her reverie, then. “So, how is he? While my mother isn’t here to freak out.”

Freya rolled her eyes. “Rebekah, you of all people should know that she can’t really tell you that.”

“Sorry. I just don’t trust him to not sugarcoat things for us. He’s such a martyr that downplaying his own condition to keep us from worrying about him is a very Elijah-like thing to do. So, of course I’m going to try to ask you. But, I understand if you can’t tell us.”

“Honestly, there are a lot of things that it’s really too soon to tell yet. But, when I see him tomorrow I’ll find out what I am and am not allowed to talk to you about. I wasn’t expecting to see you today, since I’m heading right back out. In the meantime, remind him that he’s not going to get through this alone, and you can’t help him if you don’t know what’s really going on.”

Rebekah smiled. “I like you. Will you be around later today?”

“Nope. This is actually my day off. I just came in to check on him because I didn’t want to hand him off to another neurosurgeon the day after his surgery.”

“Dedicated. Only makes me like you more. I guess we’ll be seeing you tomorrow, Dr Marshall.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She looked at the rest of the Mikaelson siblings. “It was nice meeting all of you. And I’m sure I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Dr Malreaux, please call me if there are any complications.” And with that, she turned and walked out of the ICU and to the elevators. Then she changed her mind and took to the stairwell.

But, once out of sight of the patients and their families — especially the Mikaelsons — she sat down and put her face in her hands. Everything had gotten ridiculously complicated. It was becoming harder and harder for her to deny Klaus’s connection to Elijah. Which, just added another mystery to everything. Because, one of the things that made that pretty much impossible was Ansel. Why the Hell did Elijah Mikaelson’s stepfather look like an older version of Klaus Mikaelson? He wasn’t actually related to any of them. But, there was one other thing. Something that maybe nobody else would have noticed. Those pauses in Rebekah’s introduction of her siblings. As if there were two other siblings that weren’t being mentioned, for some reason. And Hayley was really starting to think that Eve was right. That one of those pauses was Rebekah almost mentioning Klaus. The brother none of them had seen in at least three years. Oh shit. What in the world was she going to do, now?

**~Love Heals~**

She stood up and started walking, again. But, she didn’t go down to the cafeteria. Instead, she headed up to the maternity ward. A few minutes later, she was slumping into a chair in Eve’s office. “I am having a day.”

“Elijah Mikaelson? I take it things aren’t going well?”

“One doctor to another? He still can’t feel his legs. So, now I’m getting worried. And I can’t do an MRI with all that metal in his pelvis and leg. I’ll probably do a CT scan in a few days if there’s no improvement.”

Eve nodded. “I’m sure it’s nothing major. You just need to stay positive.” She got a wicked grin. “So, come on. Spill. Is he as cute as the nurses are saying?”

Hayley laughed and shook her head. “He’s certainly not bad on the eyes, that’s for sure. He’s also an incorrigible flirt. Which was probably due to the morphine. He did mention being a bit loopy.”

“A flirt, huh? What was he doing?”

“Oh… telling me how beautiful I am. Asking if I have a boyfriend.” She rolled her eyes at Eve’s smile. “He was high as a kite. He didn’t mean anything by it. And even if he did, he’s my patient.”

“If he wasn’t your patient, would you be interested?”

Hayley bit her lip. “Like I said, he’s certainly easy on the eyes. But, I don’t know anything about him. I’m a mom. My days of sex with random strangers ended with Klaus. How can I possibly know if I would be interested in Elijah when so far all I know about him that can’t be found on a medical chart is that he’s a divorce attorney?” And that he was quite possibly Klaus’s older brother. Because that longer pause of Rebekah’s is the one that might very well be Klaus. Elijah was thirty-three. Klaus was thirty-two.

“And that he’s really cute.”

“Yeah. And that. Which, like I said, my days of basing interest on that are over. I mean… I’m not looking for a stepfather for Hope, or anything. But, still. I would want something more than physical attraction. If I start dating someone, I want it to be someone I would at least be comfortable bringing home to meet my daughter. Even if Elijah wasn’t my patient, I can’t say that about him.” And… it was looking more and more like she wasn’t going to have a choice. How did her life get so damn complicated, anyway?

Eve just grinned. “Yeah. But, you smile and blush every time you say his name. Your mind may think your days of sex with random strangers is over, but your body seems to be saying that maybe you should make an exception, here.”

“Yeah. He’s definitely a hottie. Not going to deny it. But, there’s more problems with that than the fact that he’s my patient… I met more of his family, just now.”

“Oh? I take it that turned out interesting?”

“You could say that. Interesting and confusing. Apparently, his father is dead, and his mother is remarried.”

“Okay. Not all that confusing. Happens all the time. Widows are allowed to remarry.”

“Yeah… so, why does a guy who shouldn’t be related to Klaus even if Elijah is look like he could be Klaus in a couple decades?”

“Wait, what? You’re saying that Klaus looks just like… Elijah’s _stepfather_? How is that even possible?”

“I have no idea. I need to talk to them. I… I can’t pretend, anymore, Eve. These people have to be related to Klaus. They have to be. But… the _real_ question is where Ansel actually fits in with this. None of this is making any sense.”

“Well, you’re going to have to woman up and ask somebody. I get you not wanting to do it right now. They have enough on their plate with Elijah. But, Hayley… you cannot let that man leave here without finding out if they know Klaus. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I know. And I will. Eventually. I’m not ready, yet. I’m not ready to drag my baby girl into whatever family drama is going on with them.”

“How much family drama are we talking about? Well, besides the obvious where exactly does Ansel fit on the family tree issue?”

Hayley shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s the Ansel issue, obviously. But, there’s also Rebekah hesitating when she introduced her siblings and explained where they each fit in the birth order. It could just be me reading into things, but… there were two very definite pauses, like there were more people that she wasn’t mentioning. One before Elijah, and another one after him.”

“And, combined with everything else, you’re wondering if Klaus is one of those pauses?”

“The brother that none of them have seen in at least three years. Yeah… I can’t help wondering about it. It would… actually make sense combined with everything else. For all that it seems insane otherwise. But, there’s also that other pause. Another sibling that they don’t talk to? Seriously, what is up with that family?”

Eve started pacing. “So, our current mysteries are why you’ve never even heard of any of these people, who that other pause was for and what that story is… And where Ansel fits in all of this.” She turned to Hayley, eyes wide. “Holy shit! That… that would actually explain a lot, wouldn’t it?”

Hayley stared at her friend for a minute, and then it all clicked. Everything. Holy fuck! She had seriously wandered into a fucking soap opera. “Ansel is Klaus’s father. He has a different father than the others. That… if he knows that… that could be why he hasn’t talked to any of them. Whatever happened between him and his family could have something to do with Ansel.”

Eve started cackling. “And this morning you were telling me that this wasn’t going to turn into a romance novel. Instead, you’ve just become a character in a soap opera. Hayley, you need to tell them.”

“I know. I know. But, everything is so complicated. And, if all of this is right, it’s even more complicated than I could have ever imagined. Eve, he walked away from them for a reason. Do I really have a right to drag him back?”

“They’re your daughter’s family, too. What Klaus does or does not do about them is up to him. But, Hope has a right to know her family. And they have a right to know that Klaus is here, and that Hope exists.”

“They’re my daughter’s family. And they are quite possibly dysfunctional as Hell. Do I really want to drag her into that? Plus, this is really going to be a lot for them, too. And Elijah is holding on by a thread, as it is. As his doctor, the last thing I want to do is give him another shock that his system may not be able to handle. Which just adds another complication to everything.” She snorted. “Because him flirting with me and me liking it a bit too much isn’t complicated enough. Let’s add the very real possibility that he could be Hope’s uncle to the mix. I hate you, by the way.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“You started talking about romance novels and came up with this wild theory that is looking more and more like it’s not so wild. And I can’t help feeling like this is all your fault.”

“I’m not their mother. This is on her, not me.”

“I know. But, also I wonder if I’d be having this reaction to Elijah if you hadn’t put that whole epic, forbidden romance into my head.”

“Oh, I’m sure you would.” She smirked. “Of course, with all of my other predictions being right… I think I may start a betting pool on how long it’ll be before you and Elijah kiss.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “You are hopeless! Anyway, I’m heading out. I just came in to do his follow-up exam. I need to go pick Hope up. And I promised her that I would try to drag Klaus out for lunch. I just wanted to come say hi. Also, to spend a minute talking to someone that I don’t have to dance around. I can’t even tell Klaus anything about Elijah at all, because…”

“Because if it turns out they’re related, you’ve been divulging medical information without permission and the ethics board would have your head.”

“Exactly. I’ll see you later.” She gave Eve a quick hug, then walked out of the office.

But, she couldn’t stop thinking about Elijah. And not the medical issues that she should be concentrating on. She had had patients flirt with her, before. She was neither blind, nor stupid. She knew what she looked like. And guys just coming out of anesthesia, or hopped up on morphine, tended to not have a filter. But, with all the others, she had been able to laugh it off and go on about her business. Elijah, though… Elijah left her flustered. Made her blush. He had even noticed and commented on it, himself. Which was embarrassing. The last thing she needed was for him to know just what kind of effect he had on her. Especially since he was already an incorrigible flirt. Knowing that at least part of her liked it would just make him worse.

And that was without throwing the complications that Klaus and Hope added to the situation. She needed to talk to them. To Rebekah, if not to Elijah, yet. But, she was afraid to. It wasn’t just worrying about dragging her daughter into whatever dysfunctional soap opera mess the Mikaelsons had been getting up to. There was something else. What if Klaus didn’t walk away from them willingly? What if they hadn’t wanted him? And what if they rejected Hope out of anger at him? Whether for whatever caused this rift between them in the first place or for him walking away.

No. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to risk subjecting her baby girl to that rejection. She knew that she was going to have to ask. And it was going to have to be before Elijah was discharged and the Mikaelsons walked out of her life. But, not yet. She needed time to brace herself for the possibility that Hope still wouldn’t have a family.

She wiped at her eyes. It was stupid, really. Hope was doing just fine with just Hayley, Klaus, and Cami. She didn’t need the Mikaelsons. And, if they refused to see her out of anger at Klaus, then she would never know. Hayley would spare her that. So, it wasn’t Hope’s little heart getting broken that she was worried about. It was her own. Not that that changed anything.

She would talk to them. To Rebekah, at least. Or… maybe to Ansel or Mrs Hunt. Confront them with the fact that her baby daddy, whose last name just happened to be Mikaelson, looked like he could be Ansel’s son. She would talk to them. But, not now. Not until she was fully prepared for the disappointment of none of it mattering.

“Hey. You all right, there?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit stressed. Our newest patient is…”

“Why do I have the feeling that this isn’t about his medical condition? You’re starting to think the last name isn’t a coincidence, aren’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter. And, Jackson? Not a word. To anybody. They deserve to hear what we suspect from me. I don’t want any of them overhearing gossip. I’ve talked to Keelin about it. Now, I’m asking you. Help me contain this until I’m ready to talk to them. Don’t make them find out about Klaus and Hope from a random stranger.”

He gave her a soft smile and nodded. “Of course. Keelin, Stefan, and I will spread the word. Discreetly. But, you’re—”

“I’m going to have to talk to them. I know. But, for now, I’m heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

**~Love Heals~**

“Mommy!”

Hayley bent down and swooped Hope into her arms. “Hi, baby! How’s my girl?”

Not that she actually understood the answer. Apparently, Hope had had fun hanging out with her daddy, today. Because she was a major chatterbox. Hayley smiled at the animation with which her toddler attempted to tell her about her morning.

“She ‘helped’ us get things set up for the auction.”

Hayley laughed. “Dare I even ask how helpful she actually was?”

Davina shrugged. “Mostly, we asked her where we should put things, and she pointed. It was quite helpful. Even if we moved things around again, later. Shh. It made her happy, so who are we to argue?”

“Thanks, D. Where is Klaus, anyway?”

“He’s in his office. I’m assuming you’re here to kidnap him? Hope was chattering something about mommy, daddy, and lunch.”

“Yep! I promised her that if she let me go to work to check on my latest patient, that she could come to work with daddy, and then I would take both of them out to lunch. Did you want to come with?”

“Sure! Let me just let Klaus know you’re here, and grab my purse.” And then she was gone. Hayley shook her head, and then walked around the gallery. Hope’s chattering increased, and she started pointing at some of the paintings. Hayley always got a kick out of watching Hope in here. Granted, her own artistic talents were so non-existent that she probably wouldn’t understand what Hope was talking about even if she was speaking English. But, there was something kind of amazing about seeing her little girl get so excited about something.

“Ah, yes. Our little art critic has very definite opinions on some of our pieces. Be glad that she’s decided to just show you the ones she really likes. There are a few that she is very much not a fan of, and is adamant about making sure we know it. Though, to be fair, I agree with her on some of them.”

Hayley giggled. “So, if you dislike them so much, why are they here?”

“Because, unfortunately, I have to also be a businessman as well as an artist. I need to pull my own weight in her college fund, after all. And just because I think they’re ugly, doesn’t mean there isn’t somebody out there willing to pay a tidy sum for them.” He shrugged. “So, I have to weigh my own dislike against the commission I’ll get for selling them.”

“Kind of like how it’s my job to save people’s lives, even if I sometimes get a patient I wouldn’t mind killing myself?”

“Pretty much, yes. Though, at least in my case, nobody’s life is actually on the line.” He paused. “Well… I suppose that for some of the artists, starving to death if their paintings don’t sell is a possibility. But, I’d like to think that they are smart enough to work a day job if their art isn’t quite enough to pay the bills.”

“I would hope so, yes.”

At that moment, Davina came out of the back room. “So, where are we going? And will Cami be joining us?”

“Camille, unfortunately, is at work. So, it will be just the four of us. But, since Hayley is the one under the most stress, right now, she gets to pick.”

“I’m under stress? You have an entire auction to get ready for. I know how you get when you’re putting one of those together.”

“And, you’re the one who went into the hospital on your day off to check on the patient that had you in surgery for hours, yesterday. As we have already discussed, nobody is going to die if my auction doesn’t go well.”

Davina giggled. “He has a point. So, where are we going?”

Ten minutes later, they were sitting at a table at Hayley’s favorite outdoor cafe. They ordered and then sat back chatting while they waited for their food.

“So, why are you so secretive about your latest patient, anyway?”

“HIPAA, remember? There are kind of laws against me discussing patients with outsiders.”

“Which, you usually get around by being vague and not giving names. Not by clamming up, entirely.”

“Ooo… is it a celebrity? That sounds really exciting.” And with that, Davina was off playing a guessing game with herself about just who Hayley’s mystery patient could be.

Hayley listened to the girl’s chatter and just shook her head. Well, that would buy her some time, at least. She glanced over at Klaus. No. He wasn’t quite buying that. Granted, that her patient could be his brother was probably the last thing he would ever even consider. But, he obviously had a feeling that something strange was going on, here.

Eventually, they finished their lunch and Klaus reached for the bill. Hayley slapped his hand away. “This was my treat. And before you say anything, remember that I’m the one that asked you two out to lunch. My idea, my invite, my treat.”

Klaus grumbled, but he moved his hand and let Hayley pay. It had taken a while at first, getting him to accept things like that. Especially when she had been pregnant, and he was insisting that it was his job to take care of her and the baby. Eventually, they had come up with their compromise of whoever’s idea eating out was would pay. So, he bought the pizza last night, she was getting lunch today. Though, their understanding of that didn’t always stop him from sometimes trying to pay even when Hayley was the one who suggested going out somewhere. Usually, it was times like this — when Hayley was a giant ball of stress, Klaus went into protective mode. It was kind of sweet, even if it sometimes drove her crazy.

Hayley hugged Davina and Klaus goodbye, before handing Hope off to them to say goodbye to her. And then she drove home and stuck Hope in front of the t.v. for a few minutes while she changed into sweats and got herself comfortable.

The rest of her day was spent playing with her daughter, watching cheesy romcoms on Netflix, and trying really hard not to think about what she was going to do about the Mikaelsons. Or how there was a part of her wishing she had met Elijah under different circumstances.

She looked at Hope when that thought hit her and scoffed. Right. Because him being her patient was actually the smaller issue, here. Him being Klaus’s brother was the biggest issue. Not just because of Hope, but because there obviously was some serious bad blood there. Whether it was one-sided or on both their ends was something she was going to find out later. When she finally got up the courage to ask somebody about it.


End file.
